The Mormon Crusade Against Gay Marriage

When gay-rights activist Fred Karger started following the money behind the 2008 ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage in California, he discovered that the campaign was overwhelmingly funded and overseen by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Karger estimates that Mormons contributed $30 million of the $42 million total raised in support of Proposition 8, which passed in November 2008. "They completely altered the landscape," he says. "They took over every aspect of the campaign." This wasn't the Mormons' first foray into the fight over same-sex equality. The church has long frowned upon homosexuality; more recently, it has focused on opposing gay-marriage initiatives across the nation. (Though it should be noted that not all Mormons oppose gay marriage.) Thanks to Karger, that once-quiet effort has been outed. This slideshow explores the Mormon Church's ongoing campaign to roll back gay rights.

To read more about Karger's efforts to save gay marriage and unmask the Mormon Church, click here.

June 2, 2008: By collecting more than a million signatures, anti-gay-marriage advocates place a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage on November 2008 ballot in California. Leading the charge behind the initiative, known as Proposition 8, are the groups Protect Marriage and the National Organization for Marriage. NOM’s board includes several members with strong ties to the Mormon Church, including the son of a Mormon apostle.